Reuters photographer Bobby Yip took a series of portraits of people taking part in the “Occupy Central” protests in Hong Kong, and asked them why they had joined the demonstrations. China rules Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” formula that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates. The unrest is the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Most people know Nikon as a purveyor of pro and consumer-grade digital cameras. But the company's expertise with optics bleeds over into related markets – it's one of the science community's major suppliers of microscopes. And each year the company asks the community to send it some of their favorite images of tiny objects. A panel of scientists and journalists have chosen the best of this past year's submissions, which Nikon has placed on its Small World site.

Photo: Honorable Mention. “Snow crystal, illuminated with colored lights (5x)”. (Photo by Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Department of Physics, Pasadena, California, USA)

A Buddhist monk catches an aerial view of Kathmandu from the damaged Swayambhunath Stupa premises in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, May 6, 2015. The April 25 earthquake killed thousands and injured many more as it flattened mountain villages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in Kathmandu. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Devotees try to form a human pyramid to break a clay pot containing curd during celebrations to mark the Hindu festival of Janmashtami in Mumbai, India, September 6, 2015. Janmashtami, which marks the birthday of Hindu god Krishna, is being celebrated across the country today. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Patrick Fellows #21, Allan McShane #26, Carson Edwardson #8 and Shaun Bily #23 of the Erie Otters sit on the bench during the first period of an OHL game against the Niagara IceDogs at the Meridian Centre on October 6, 2016 in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

A Nepalese woman pours milk as she offers prayers to the setting Sun on the banks of the Bagmati River during the Chhath Puja festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, November 6, 2016. During Chhath, an ancient Hindu festival, rituals are performed to thank the Sun God for sustaining life on earth. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Tippi aged 6 sitting on the back of Linda, a tamed ostrich in South Africa, 1996. Incredible pictures of the real life Mowgli, a girl who spent the first ten years of her life growing up in the African bush, have been released for the first time. The magical images chronicle the life of Tippi Benjamine Okanti Degré, who was brought up with wild animals, just like Rudyard Kipling's hero did in The Jungle Book. (Photo by Sylvie Robert/Barcroft Media)

Revelers of the “Societe des Champs Elysee” launch fireworks before boarding the Rampart-St. Claude street car line, which just opened last fall, to commemorate the official start of Mardi Gras season, in New Orleans, Friday, January 6, 2017. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)